Rocking back and forth provides a soothing effect to many individuals. Although many individuals enjoy rocking back and forth, injury or other infirmity prevents them from generating the forces necessary to rock a rocking chair back and forth. It would be desirable, therefore, to have a rocking chair that included a drive mechanism for rocking the rocking chair back and forth. In addition, because the desired rocking frequency can vary from individual to individual, it would also be desirable to have a rocking chair with a drive mechanism that included a speed control that allowed the user to select a desired rocking frequency.